


we've all got our junk (and my junk is you)

by AuraSweet13



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Theatre, F/M, Rating May Change, but not in detail, rape/non con is mentioned in chapter 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-05-19 04:39:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14866770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuraSweet13/pseuds/AuraSweet13
Summary: Amaya Jiwe and Mick Rory are two college students who barely register on each other’s radars...until they’re drawn to audition for the university’s annual show, Spring Awakening, for their own personal reasons. Everything spirals out of control when they’re cast as Wendla and Melchior. Vixenwave college AU, with Captain Canary and Atomichawk as secondary ships. Everyone in this fic, except for the professors, is at least 21.





	1. There's a moment you know

Amaya was sitting in her 8am ‘Vertebrate Adaptations and Evolution’ class, about half an hour early-what could she say, she’d always been a natural early riser-when her phone buzzed in her purse.

Curiously, she took it out and looked at it.

It was a text from Courtney.

 **Stargirl:** They’re announcing the show we’ll be doing this year today. You should come with me, it could be fun.

 **Vixen:** I don’t know, Court. You know I’m not really into theater. Besides, I don’t even sing.

Central City University was pretty much famous for their musicals. And though Amaya loved going to them, she wasn’t so sure about being in one.

 **Stargirl** : Don’t hyperventilate on me. I’m not asking you to sign up with me, just to come along so I have someone to gush over the show with. Please, at least think about it, ‘maya? It’s later in the evening, so it won’t interfere with your classes!

Amaya sighed. Well, it could be fun. At least getting to see first hand what the show would be instead of waiting until opening night, or a few weeks before.

Swallowing hard, she texted her friend back.

 **Vixen:** Fine, I’ll come with you.

Little did she know how much everything was about to change for her.

 

Mick Rory hated everything about this idea. But, it was something that had been suggested by his parole officer. Partake in whatever show his university decided to put on this year, or spend every weekend of his second year of university helping out the seniors in the nearby retirement home.

He figured he’d chosen the lesser of two evils. At least this way, he had a chance to see some attractive girls.

That was why Leonard Snart was here, after all. For the ‘attractive people’, as he put it. Mick had known Leonard was pansexual since they first met, and it honestly didn’t bother him. Him and Leonard went too far back for something like that to bother him.

Though there were some decent-looking women in the room right now, like the young woman, whose face he couldn’t see but who he couldn’t tear his eyes away from, with black hair, sitting about five rows down from him, talking quietly with a blonde girl he did recognize. Courtney Whitmore, who had been in nearly every show that this university had put on. She was talented, and pretty easy on the eyes, if he was being honest.

But when Courtney’s friend turned her head to say something, and Mick caught a glimpse of deep brown eyes, he was momentarily thrown off focus. He swore he could actually feel his breath hitch in his throat.

If she was auditioning, whoever she was, maybe this whole show thing wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to him.

 

Amaya took a quick but cursory glance around the room to see if she recognized anyone here. She usually kept to herself, given her intense workload. But, she did recognize a few people. A couple rows behind her sat Rex Tyler, Todd Rice and Charles McNider, a couple of guys she was friendly with but who were more Courtney’s friends than hers. She gave a small wave when she saw Rex looking at her. He was handsome, light brown hair, bright blue eyes. She turned her gaze away from him and found Sara Lance and her friends-a guy by the name of Ray Palmer, another guy she knew to be called Jefferson Jackson, and a girl by the name of Kendra Saunders.

Everyone else, though there weren’t too many people, she didn’t recognize.

She turned her attention back to the stage as the theater director, Rip Hunter, took to the stage. “Thank you all for coming out today.” He said, his British accent prominent. “I’m pleased to announce that this year’s show is going to be, drumroll please!” He said, and she heard Ray, Jefferson and Henry start it up. “Spring Awakening!”

Amaya’s eyes widened a little. She didn’t know much about Spring Awakening, but she did know that it had some...questionable content that she wasn’t sure would fly by the board’s standards. But she knew that Professor Hunter used to be on the board, so maybe he would figure out a way to get it okayed by them.

Courtney seemed to be over the moon, Amaya smiled as she felt her friend grip her arm and beam at her.

“You’ll have a week to do your research and find a song, if you still wish to audition. I know that this musical isn’t for everyone.” Rip smiled out at the crow. “I hope to see you all back here next week.” Figuring that was a dismissal, Amaya got up with the rest of the students, turning to Courtney with a smile. Linking arms with her friend, they left the auditorium.

 

Amaya was totally not listening to the OBC Recording of Spring Awakening while working on a paper for one of her other classes.

(Just kidding, that was exactly what she was doing.)

She hadn’t originally been going to audition, but Courtney had persuaded her to do so, with the argument “Imagine getting cast opposite Rex.”

It wasn’t like Amaya had never sung before, ever. She had.

(In the shower, but no one but herself knew that.)

She found herself playing ‘Mama Who Bore Me’ on repeat. As she finished up her paper, her only thought was that she had her audition song.

 

Mick Rory had been planning to just sign up to be stage crew or something, figuring that it would still count towards what his parole officer wanted.

But, while he was putting off doing an assignment, he’d looked up the track list out of curiosity.

The second he saw that there was a song called ‘Totally Fucked’?

Well that sold it, he was auditioning. Though he very likely wouldn’t get a substantial part, not when he’d seen Raymond Palmer and Rex Tyler in the crowd, it would still be fun to get to swear on stage.

 

It seemed like a week had passed in the blink of an eye. Amaya sat next to Courtney again, in the same spot she’d sat in a week ago, trying not to lose her mind with nerves. She’d never done this before, this was Courtney’s thing.

“Breathe, Amaya.” She heard Courtney say softly. “You’ll be fine.”

Amaya wanted to ask her how she knew that, but she could barely make her mouth move at all right now. What if she froze on stage, made a fool of herself? She found herself fiddling with the amulet her mother had given her before she’d gone off to college-a gold fox’s head with spikes on either side. Touching it when she was nervous calmed her down. She took a mental stock of her appearance-a comfy but stylish golden sweater under a black jacket, a pair of brown jeans, and black flats-to try and calm herself down further.

When all of those tactics failed (spectacularly, if she did say so herself), she tried to distract herself by watching the other auditions. Zari’s ‘Whispering’ was breathtaking. Courtney’s ‘My Junk’ was incredible, too. And when Sara and Kendra sang The Dark I Know Well, Amaya felt every word of their pain and suffering. Rex’s ‘The Bitch of Living’ was pretty impressive. A girl named Nora Darhk, whom Amaya didn’t know very well, and a guy she also didn’t know named Leonard Snart did an extremely emotional duet of ‘Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind’.

Every audition she saw was spectacular.

“Mick Rory.” Rip called, and Amaya was further surprised by the sight of a hulking, muscular, frankly intimidating young man she didn’t know taking to the stage. He had on a grey henley, under a leather jacket, combat boots and black pants. She couldn’t hear murmurs behind her, and wondered why that was. As soon as he opened his mouth, her jaw almost dropped to her lap before she recovered and closed her mouth.

His rendition of ‘Totally Fucked’ was so passionate and so full of emotion that she was enraptured by it. Somehow, his passion made her think that he could relate to what was being said, and her heart went out to him in sympathy.

“Totally fucked!” He finished, and the auditorium seemed shocked into silence. Sitting up straight, she started the applause, and soon the auditorium was clapping for him instead of just gaping at him.

“Thank you, Mr. Rory. That was very impressive.” She heard Rip say. Mick nodded and gave a grunt before heading off the stage. He looked at his list again. “And last but certainly not least, Amaya Jiwe.”

Her breath hitched in her throat as she got out of her seat and headed up to the stage, feeling like she was on autopilot the entire time. She moved to center stage, closed her eyes as the music started, then opened them and began to sing.

 

Mick had never been a fan of cliches, in fact he usually avoided them if he could. But to say that this ‘Amaya Jiwe’, the girl he’d been nearly spellbound by the week before no less, had a voice like an angel would be a severe understatement. She seemed shy, nervous, but her voice was incredible. From a quick glance around, he could tell he wasn’t the only one who thought that.

When she finished, the applause was almost instantaneous, and deafening. She responded by giving a shy but earnest smile and thanking Professor Hunter as she headed offstage to take her seat again. Rip took her place. “I’ve seen some incredible auditions today, and I’m pretty sure I’ve made my choices. The cast list will be posted in two days, at 4pm.”

Mick couldn’t help himself, he watched Amaya leave, despite Leonard’s attempts to get him to leave the auditorium first thing.

Suddenly, he found himself anticipating the posting of the cast list.

 

Two days later, Amaya felt like her heart was in her throat as she moved towards the office of the drama department, where a piece of paper was posted and surrounded by people. She was in no rush to see hers, so she didn’t mind the fact that there was a huge crowd. When she reached the cast list, she started to search for her name, only to realize she didn’t have to look far at all.

**SPRING AWAKENING**

WENDLA BERGMANN- Amaya Jiwe

MELCHIOR GABOR- Mick Rory

MORITZ STIEFEL- Leonard Snart

ILSE NEUMANN- Sara Lance

HÄNSCHEN RILOW- Todd Rice

MARTHA BESSELL- Kendra Saunders

ERNST RÖBEL- Raymond Palmer

GEORG ZIRSCHNITZ- Jefferson Jackson

OTTO LÄMMERMEIER- Rex Tyler

THEA- Nora Darhk

ANNA- Courtney Whitmore

Amaya felt like she was in a daze. But at the same time, she wasn’t scared. She was eager. She had a feeling this was going to be interesting.


	2. May not be cool, but it’s so where I live…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first read-through, and Mick and Amaya get closer.

Mick had never expected to get so much as a small part in the musical, let alone the role of the leading male character. And he was going to be acting with Amaya Jiwe. **  
**

Himself and Leonard were sitting outside the auditorium, waiting for it to open so they could go in, get their scripts, and do whatever else theatre geeks did. Mick had no way of knowing, he’d never been one.

Before now, at least.

“Well, Mick, did you ever expect we’d be here?” Leonard asked, turning to face him. “The two most important male roles in the entire show.”

Mick shook his head. “No. Never.” His tone was honest.

“Well, it should be interesting, at the very least.” Leonard continued speaking. He’d always done more talking between the two of them. “Though, I can’t complain too much. The women we get to act across from are lovely, wouldn’t you agree?” Sara Lance was lovely and talented, and Amaya was talented as well, despite her reserved appearance.

Mick opened his mouth to answer, but the arrival of Amaya Jiwe stopped him from doing so. She was wearing the same clothing she’d worn during her audition-her angelic voice still rang in his head, loud and clear. Like a bell. She waved at them. “Hi, guys.” Amaya said, and even her speaking voice was soothing.

Leonard gave a casual wave, and Mick nodded at her. “Hey.” He said.

She sat down a little ways off from them, pulling out her phone. Probably to text the blonde she’d been with during the announcement and auditions-Courtney, he remembered her name being.

Soon enough, the rest of the cast, and Mr. Hunter, came around and opened the auditorium. Mick got up and headed in after Leonard, wondering what lay in store for him.

 

Amaya was enraptured by the script. They were currently doing a readthrough of it, and the content was intense, to say the least. Mr. Hunter was reading the stage directions and, save for the singing parts, herself and the rest of the cast were doing the read through.

It was the scene where Wendla and Melchior discovered each other in the woods. Her first real scene with Mick. She knew she didn’t really have to put too much stock into it, it was just the read through-no actual acting was necessary-but she wanted to. She had to admit, intense as the subject matter was, she was getting into it. Into character.

“ _Melchior Gabor?_ ” She asked, voice curious, as she locked eyes with Mick Rory across the circle.

He blinked, like he was just seeing her for the first time. Which, given that the stage direction said he was in disbelief, was fitting. “ _Wendla Bergman?! Like a tree-nymph fallen from the branches. What are you doing--alone up here?_ ”

Amaya knew she didn’t have to, but she ducked her head a little, trying to get more into character. A schoolgirl around her crush. “ _Mama’s making May wine. I thought I’d surprise her with some woodruff. And you_?”

“ _This is my favorite spot. My private place--for thinking._ ” She was surprised, genuinely surprised, by how soft his voice had gotten, even despite the natural gruff tone it had.

She bit her lip and looked away. “ _Oh. I’m sorry--_ ” She mumbled.

Mick shook his head, not taking his eyes off her. “ _No--no. Please._ ” She looked back at him when he said this, and as per the script he continued talking. “ _So...how have you been doing?_ ”

“ _Well, this morning was wonderful._ ” She smiled fondly, involuntarily, as she read the next few lines. “ _Our youth group brought baskets of food and clothing to the day-laborers’ children._ ”

Mick nodded, though the script said nothing about that. And the smile he had on his face was gentle. Fond. “ _I remember when we used to do that. Together._ ” For someone who, as far as she knew, had never acted before, he was doing a great job. Though it was just the read through. He seemed to be trying his best to act out the lines while being seated, like she was.

“ _You should’ve seen their faces, Melchior. How much we brightened their day._ ” She returned back to him, the smile from her previous line still on her face.

“ _Actually, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot._ ” Mick was only mildly surprised at how invested he was in the scene. But, it helped that the person he was acting off of seemed to have a passion for it-despite just reading the lines from the script.

Amaya’s brows furrowed. “ _The day-laborers_?”

Mick shook his head. “ _Our little acts of charity. What do you think, Wendla?_ ” He even got the pronunciation of Wendla’s name right. “ _Can our Sunday school deeds really make a difference?_ ”

Amaya sat up straighter. “ _They have to. Of course. What other hope do these people have?_ ” She winced internally to hear how impassioned her voice had become, and she could tell from the startled blinking of her castmates that it had caught them off guard, too. But she was thinking about the people back in her village. Zambesi. And all the villages that tended to get ignored in the grand scheme of things. She ducked her head, embarrassed. Not at her feelings, but the outburst.

She watched Mick’s brows furrow in what looked to be contemplation. “ _I don’t know, exactly. But I fear that Industry is fast determining itself firmly against them._ ”

Amaya didn’t hesitate with her next line. “ _Against us all, then._ ”

Mick’s nod in response was nothing short of enthusiastic. “ _Thank you, yes!_ ”

Her next line was another she agreed with, immensely. “ _It seems to me: what serves_ each _of us best is what serves_ all _of us best._ ” She noticed several others in the circle showing signs of agreement.

He nodded. “ _Indeed._ ” The way he looked at her now, after checking his script, sent a chill through her. But not in a bad way in the slightest. “ _Wendla Bergman, I have known you all these years, and we’ve never truly talked._ ”

Amaya shrugged. “ _We have so few opportunities. Now that we’re older._ ”

Mick canted his head slightly in a ‘fair enough’ motion. “ _True. In a more progressive world, of course, we could all attend the same school. Boys and girls together. Wouldn’t that be remarkable?_ ” A smile curved his lips.

Amaya tried to hide a smile of her own as Rip read out a stage direction. “In the moment of intellectual engagement, Melchior has drawn so close to Wendla that she grows self conscious and pulls back.”

“ _What time is it?_ ” Amaya asked, as her next line.

“And with that, I think we have the perfect segway to end it for the evening.” Rip said, and everyone closed their scripts. “Same time tomorrow, okay everyone? Right where we left off.” There were various murmurs and gestures of agreement. “Great work today!” Everyone filed out relatively quickly, and Amaya gestured for Courtney, Rex and Todd to go on without her and not wait.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked over to Mick, who was standing with Leonard. “Would you like to get coffee with me?” She asked Mick, looking at Leonard. “You can come too, if you want.”

Leonard held up his hand. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not really a coffee kind of guy. You two have fun, though.” And with that, he hopped off the stage and headed out.

Mick watched Leonard go before turning back to Amaya. “Sure, I’d like that.” He said, hands on the straps of his own backpack.

Amaya beamed, and Mick once again found himself destabilized by it. “Great! I know just the place, follow me.”

And with that, the unlikely pair headed out of the theater.


	3. Haven’t you heard the word of your body?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The coffee date and discussing 'that' scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some mention of rape in this chapter, very briefly but only because in the original show, Melchior pretty much does rape Wendla. While the consent issue in later shows is not perfect, as Wendla never fully knows what she's doing, it's certainly better than the original show. The story's tags have been updated to include this mention of the topic. It's not graphically talked about or anything, but if that kind of subject makes you uncomfortable in any capacity, please tread carefully while reading this chapter. Be safe, everyone!

“I thought your rendition of ‘Totally Fucked’ was incredible.” Amaya told him earnestly as they sat in the coffee shop, drinking their respective beverages. He had a black coffee and she had a simple cafe mocha. “Seriously, you’re really talented.”

He gave a shy smile. “Thank you.” Mick sipped his coffee. “You were pretty amazing too, you know. Have you ever acted before?”

Amaya shook her head. “No, never.” She admitted. “My course load is so intense, I never really thought about it. I wouldn’t have even gone to the announcement, or auditions, if it wasn’t for Courtney.” She brought her mug up to her mouth and sipped her drink as well. “Have you? Ever auditioned before?” She felt better when he shook his head. “Well, it’s good to know I won’t be the only one who isn’t really sure how to be an actor, let alone with a leading role.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Mick said warmly.

Amaya didn’t know how to broach the subject with him, because they barely knew each other. But it was an important, pivotal scene in the play. And it would probably be easier for them to lay the ground rules for the scene without everyone else around. “So, should we talk about...Act 1, scene 11?” Her tone was shy and tentative.

Mick didn’t know what scene she was talking about at first. But when he remembered-during his own skim-through of the script-his eyes widened a little. “Yeah, we, uh, we probably should talk about that.”

“Are you...comfortable with it?” Amaya asked gently.

“I was going to ask you that.” He said with a brief smile, that was more nerves than anything else.

Amaya didn’t know, in all honesty. “I mean, it never really specifies how much skin needs to be shown, or anything like that. I’m sure we could talk to Mr. Hunter and see what he wants for the scene, and go from there.” She winced. “This is an awkward conversation, isn’t it?”

“A little.” Mick agreed. “But, I think you’re right. The first thing we should do is talk to him about it.”

“I mean, I know in the original there are some issues about Wendla’s consent during the scene.” Amaya said. “But thankfully, I didn’t see any of that in the script we’re using.” In the script they had, Wendla was nervous, but she did consent to all of it, the entire way through. That made her feel better about the situation.

“Yeah, if that was in the script, I’d want it taken out.” Mick agreed. He had done some less than stellar things in his life, sure, but he refused to play someone who was pretty much a rapist in the original show.

“If that was still in the script, the university board **definitely** wouldn’t let us do the play.” Amaya agreed. “And rightfully so.” She looked at him, taking another sip of her latte. “So, we’re talking to Mr. Hunter about this scene tomorrow?” Amaya asked, and Mick nodded. “All right, sounds like a plan.” She looked at her phone, and her eyes widened at the time. “I should probably get going. I have homework to do.” She smiled at him and stood up, finishing off her drink. “This was nice.” She smiled at him, and he swore he felt his stomach flip.

“Yeah, it was.” Mick agreed, staring at her but trying not to. “I will see you tomorrow, Wendla Bergman.” He said on a whim.

The fact that she laughed made him glad he’d said it, and he watched her dip into a curtsy despite not wearing a skirt. “See you tomorrow, Melchior.” She slid the strap of her bag onto her shoulder and headed out of the coffee shop.

As he watched her leave, Mick had the distinct thought There’s a moment you know, you’re fucked.

And this, this was his moment.

 

The next day, Amaya entered the auditorium before everyone else, save for Mr. Hunter, to find Mick already there with him.

“Miss Jiwe!” Mr. Hunter said waving her down to where they were. “I assume you’re here to talk about act 1, scene 11?” He asked, seeming unsurprised when she nodded. “Mr. Rory said you’d probably be coming by, too, and that we should wait for you before we talked about it.” He gestured for them to sit down, and Amaya did so. Her legs were shaking. She was almost hyper aware of Mick sitting in the seat beside hers. “So, what exactly would you like to discuss with me about this scene?” He asked.

“Well, just what you had in mind for it, really.” Amaya said. “That way, we can gauge how comfortable we are with it. If that’s okay.”

He nodded. “Of course it’s okay. I don’t want my leads to be uncomfortable with anything in the script.” Rip looked at both of them. “Before we talk about anything else, I just wanted to say I don’t expect either of you to be fully naked on stage. If neither of you are comfortable being even partially nude...well, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To talk out what works best for the two of you.”

“Well, when you say partially nude, what do you mean by that?” This time it was Mick who spoke.

“The way I have it in my head is your chest,” Mr. Hunter nodded at Amaya. “And your butt.” He said it so clinically that it was easy for Mick not to laugh. “Nothing else. Is that something that’s okay with both of you? I need you both to be sure.”

Mick was just relieved he wouldn’t be naked from the waist up, honestly. There was a reason he always wore gloves and never showed his arms or upper body. And only Leonard knew it, of the people who went to this school at least. “I mean, I don’t have an issue with it.” He said honestly. “It’s just one scene, right?”

Mr. Hunter nodded. “Exactly. And it wouldn’t even be for the full scene, only the latter half.”

“In that case, I think that’s something I could do as well.” Amaya said, feeling confident-though the slight apprehension she felt was still there.

Mr. Hunter smiled. “Fantastic. For both of your comforts, the first couple of times we do that scene, it’ll be just the two of you and myself.”

That definitely made her feel better. “Thank you, Mr. Hunter.” She said, and she heard Mick-in his slightly gruff voice-echo it.

“You’re welcome.” He said warmly. “Now, we have an hour before we continue the read through, so you two can stay here if you want, or go get some food. The choice is yours.”

Amaya decided to stay, to read over the script. She looked at Mick. “Do you feel better about the scene now?” She asked.

He looked steadily back at her, nodding. “Yeah, actually, I do. You?” She nodded in response. “I’m going to go track down Snart, but I’ll see you soon.” He left the auditorium, and Amaya turned her attention to the script. Thankfully, they had a while before the read through of act 1, scene 11, and probably even more time before the actual blocking of it.

Hopefully she could work up her courage before then.


	4. But I know there's so much more to find

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During blocking for 'The Word of Your Body', Amaya realizes she may be in over her head.

It had been a couple of days since they’d finished the first read-through of Spring Awakening, and Mick had to admit, he was far more invested in the show than he’d ever expected to be. He’d thought it was going to be painful, and yet he was actually enjoying himself. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Leonard.

They had started blocking Act 1, and it was coming along nicely. Himself and Amaya seemed to bounce off each other nearly perfectly. She had such a happiness, a kindness to her, that Mick felt (from his research) fit Wendla perfectly.

Mr. Hunter couldn’t have cast a better Wendla, in his opinion.

Especially with her angelic voice.

In blocking Act 1, that meant they were also starting to run through the songs within the play. Of course, Amaya was hypnotic while blocking ‘Mama Who Bore Me’, and Mick literally couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.

Now, a day or so after starting to block various scenes, they were getting ready to block ‘The Word of Your Body’. Mick spoke the lines he’d said during the run-through “ _True. In a more progressive world, of course, we could all attend the same school. Boys and girls together. Wouldn’t that be remarkable?_ ” while staring intently at Amaya.

He watched Amaya’s face, watched her widened eyes as she took a couple of steps back. “ _What time is it?_ ” She asked, her tone meek and perfectly in character.

Mick didn’t look away from her, but he also didn’t move any closer to her. “ _Must be close to four._ ” He said.

Amaya blinked, looking surprised. “ _Oh? I thought it was later. I paused and lay so long in the moss by the stream, and just let myself dream. I thought it must be...later._ ” He watched her ring her hands, because at the moment she didn’t have the bouquet that would be the ‘woodruff’.

Mick kept his hand, the hand that was supposed to hold his notebook, which they also didn’t have at the moment, at his side. “ _Then, can’t you sit for a moment?_ ” He asked, and moved away from her back towards the ‘oak’, which was really just a couple of the chairs from the school scene, turned on their sides. Mick added more enthusiasm to his voice for his next line. “ _When you lean back against this oak, and stare up at the clouds, you start to think hypnotic things…_ ”

Amaya shook her head. “ _I have to be back before five._ ” She glanced away from him, to her right.

Mick spoke again, his tone urging. “ _But, when you lie here, such a strange, wonderful peace settles over you…_ ”

“ _Well,_ ” Amaya said, ducking her head a little. “ _for a moment, maybe._ ” As he watched, she started to venture slowly towards him, looking over her shoulder like she was afraid she’d be caught. He shifted slightly to make room for her, moving his hand so she could sit, like Rip had directed them to do when they were blocking this part of the scene. They’d stopped before the song, though. She settled beside him, sitting with her legs tucked under her body. As she did, the music started up. They glanced at each other for a few moments before both looking away.

They kept their hands to themselves as she started to sing. “ _Just too unreal, all this…_ ” Mick had to almost physically fight the urge to look at her right away. “ _Watching the words fall from my lips…_ ”

“ _Baiting some girl--with hypotheses!_ ” Mick sang, keeping his hands clasped in his lap.

“Now, when you both sing this next line, Mr. Rory, I want you to reach out and tentatively brush the tips of your fingers against hers.” Rip instructed, and Mick almost hated him for ruining the moment.

Was it just him, or did Mick hear Amaya’s breath catch beside him? He nodded. “Okay, Mr. Hunter.”

“And you two don’t look at each other, either.” He continued. “Not at this point in the song.”

The two of them continued on with the song, since the next line together. “ _Haven’t you heard the word of your body?_ ” Amaya had greatly underestimated how **intimate** this whole scene would feel, which was not helped by the fact that she was looking away from Mick. It was like her heart actually stuttered in her chest when she felt his fingers against hers.

The next line Mick had to sing was incredibly fitting for how he was feeling right now. “ _Don’t feel a thing--you wish._ ”

“Lift your hands as you’re singing, but don’t take hands just yet.” Rip instructed.

Amaya felt Mick’s hand gently pushing hers up, their palms not touching yet. “ _Grasping at pearls with my fingertips…_ ”

“Okay, Mr. Rory, now you take her hand as you say this next line.”

Mick nodded. “ _Holding her hand like some little tease._ ” He slid his fingers through hers and held firm.

As soon as he did this, Amaya wasn’t sure she’d be able to breathe enough to get out the next line.

“Now, as you sing this next line, I want you to turn and face each other, and take the other hand as well. And then I want you to stand up together.” Rip continued to speak, but Amaya barely heard him over the beating of her heart.

Somehow she managed to find the breath to sing this next line with Mick. “ _Haven’t you heard the word of my wanting?_ ” They turned in tandem to face each other, taking both hands. As they rose to stand together, they kept singing. She didn’t think she could take her eyes off him even if she wanted to, and it looked to her like the feeling was mutual.

“Now I want you both to turn and face the audience, walking forward three steps from the ‘oak’ for the line ‘Oh, I'm gonna be wounded’. Then on ‘I’m gonna be your wound’, you take three steps back. And then, you walk three steps forward with ‘Oh, I'm gonna bruise you.’ and stay there on ‘Oh, you're gonna be my bruise’.” He looked at them. “Three forward, three back, three forward. Okay?”

It felt to Amaya like she was on autopilot, and yet also like she was right there in the moment at the same time. The two of them did just that, singing the entire time. Amaya wasn’t aware of anything going on in the audience, she was too focused on this moment.

“Sing the next line together.” Mr. Hunter said. “And as you do, Miss Jiwe keep your eyes forward, but Mr. Rory, I want you to look at your joined hands during your current line, and then at her during the next.”

 _“Just too unreal, all this…_ ” Amaya had to admit, she really liked how their voices sounded together.

“Now, Amaya, as you sing your line, I need you two to slowly let each other’s hands go, bring them around each other once and then put the tips of your fingers in his hand.”

Amaya felt herself nod, but she wasn’t entirely aware of it as she did just that. “ _Watching his world slip through my fist._ ”

“Mr. Rory, as you sing your next line, I want you to gently and slowly twirl her so her back is to your front, and bring your joined hands down to just under her chest area. Miss Jiwe, bring your free hand up to rest against his shoulder as you sing the line after that together.”

Amaya felt her breath hitch in her throat as he twirled her. “ _Playing with her in your fantasies…_ ” The look he gave her as he was twirling her pierced right to her soul, and the words certainly didn’t help, but in a good way. In that particular moment, she was incredibly thankful that her back was now to him. “ _Haven’t you heard the word, how I want you?_ ”

“Now you both sing the ‘Oh, I’m gonna be wounded’ part again.” Amaya could see Mr. Hunter’s face, and he looked nothing short of pleased. “As you sing these next lines, I want you to slowly pull apart from each other. Mr. Rory, run your hand along her arm as you let her go, and Miss Jiwe run your free hand across your chest. But at the same time, keep one of your hands holding the other. And then on ‘I’m gonna be your wound’, turn to face each other and take both hands.”

They followed his directions, still singing, and Amaya kept her gaze locked on his.

“And on the final ‘Oh, I’m gonna bruise you/Oh, you’re gonna be my bruise’, I want you two to end up in the position you were in when you back the song, side by side against the oak.”

Amaya was grateful that they got to end the song sitting down, because she was certain her legs were shaking.

“ _Oh, I’m gonna bruise you...Oh, you’re gonna be my bruise…_ ”

As the song ended, and the rest of the cast and crew started applauding, Amaya just tried to catch her breath.

If simply holding hands and dancing with him in the context of the play made her feel like this, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for the 'sex' scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been the longest chapter so far. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying. I hope you enjoyed this! Please let me know what you thought, and what you liked about it.


	5. Still there’s this one thing, just to see you go by

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaya gets to know the other girls a little better, and the plot thickens.

Amaya looked at Mr. Hunter. She could practically see the giddiness oozing from him. “Well done, that was incredible for the first time going through the song!” He looked at her. “Miss Jiwe, you may have a seat. Mr. Rory, I want you to stay on stage. Mr. Snart, Mr. Rice, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Palmer and Mr. Tyler, come on up here so we can block ‘The Bitch of Living’, if you please.”

Amaya’s head was still spinning like she was on a roundabout as she moved over to sit down beside Courtney.

“You were amazing!” Courtney enthused in a whisper. “Seriously, I think every guy in the room, save for Mr. Hunter, was catching flies watching you.”

Amaya felt her cheeks burn as she ducked her head. “Thanks, Court.” She murmured, turning her attention back to the stage as she watched Mr. Hunter start to block the boys only solo number with them. However, she tried her best not to look at Mick; she’d probably embarrassed herself enough doing that during ‘Word of your Body’.

Every one of the guys was incredibly talented-Leonard in particular was absolutely nailing the role of Moritz.

“ _She said ‘Love may make you blind kid, but I wouldn’t mind at all!_ ’” Leonard sang, his voice full of passion and emotion.

There was far more movement in this number than in the previous one. Though she was trying her best not to stare at him, Amaya found herself glancing at Mick to make sure he was okay-that he wasn’t tiring himself out. He seemed fine, but she wondered if Mr. Hunter would give them a break after this; they’d been going for a while. However, she said nothing, she didn’t want to interrupt.

She startled a little feeling the tap on her shoulder, and glanced behind herself to see Sara Lance looking at her expectantly, Kendra Saunders sitting beside her. “Want to go grab something to eat with us?” She asked in a whisper, looking at both Amaya herself and Courtney.

Amaya looked at Courtney, who was nodding, and then back at Sara and Kendra, smiling. “I mean, I could definitely eat, but what if he decides to block a scene we’re needed for?”

Sara and Kendra both held up their phones. “I told Snart to text me if we’re needed, and Kendra told Ray to do the same.” She whispered, standing up. “Now let’s go, I’m starving.”

Amaya didn’t need to be told twice as she shared an amused look with Courtney and grabbed her back, getting up and following Sara and Kendra out of the auditorium, Courtney right behind her.

 

“So, The Word of Your Body was kind of incredible.” Sara complimented as she took a bite from her burger.

Amaya smiled shyly as she swallowed the bite of her salad. “It was also really nerve wracking, but thank you.”

“Well, you did a really good job of not letting it show.” Kendra offered, and Amaya blinked in surprise. “If you hadn’t said that just now, I never would’ve guessed.”

Sara and Courtney both nodded, and Amaya gave another smile as she ate another forkful of her salad. “This was a good idea, Sara.” She said, causing Sara to smile and nod in agreement, her mouth full of food.

During WOYB, she had been so nervous the thought of eating hadn’t even occurred to her. Now? Now she was starving. Amaya continued talking. “When you two did ‘The Dark I Know Well’ for your audition, I honestly almost started crying.” She offered kindly but not at all insincerely.

Both Kendra and Sara smiled and thanked her. Amaya decided that she liked these girls, even though she’d never talked to them before joining up with the show.

There were a couple minutes of companionable silence as all four girls ate their respective meals. Until a phone buzzed, and Kendra sat up, looking at it. A giggle escaped her.

“Are we needed in the auditorium?” Amaya asked, mildly concerned. She was only about half done her salad, but if she was careful maybe she could finish it in the auditorium.

Kendra shook her head. “Oh, no. They’re taking a break right now. Ray just texted me to see how things are with us.” She looked at them. “Could I take a selfie of us to send to him?” She asked. If Amaya had to guess, she’d say that Ray and Kendra were probably dating, or at the very least interested in each other.

“I don’t have a problem with it.” Amaya said. When both Courtney and Sara also gave their assent, they all shifted to be in the shot and Amaya smiled as Kendra took the picture. It was a nice one, she had to admit. And she wasn’t even really a fan of having her picture taken.

She sent it and then, a few minutes later, Kendra’s phone buzzed again. She looked at it, and clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. Amaya’s brows furrowed in confusion until she showed them the phone, where the guys were lounging in the theatre seats, all giving smiles of their own. Ray in particular was making a goofy face at the camera. “So, you and Ray...are you dating?” Amaya asked, hoping that fact wasn’t horribly obvious, and she was the only one who couldn’t see it.

To her relief, Kendra nodded. “We’ve been dating for about a year now. He keeps saying he wants to marry me, and while I wouldn’t mind that at all, I told him he has to wait until we’re both done school.”

Amaya smiled. “That’s sweet.”

Sara lifted a finger. “Can I just say, I pretty much clocked it the second they first met.” She tried her best to stifle her smirk as Kendra gave her a playful shove, but didn’t quite succeed.

Kendra turned her attention to Amaya and Courtney. “What about you two?” She asked. “Do you have your eyes on anyone?”

“In general, or within the theatre department?” Amaya asked.

Kendra shrugged. “Either or. Whatever works.”

Amaya shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. This is the first show I’ve ever been in, so I’m still trying to navigate all of that.” She said honestly.

Kendra nodded. “Fair enough.” And then, mercifully, she dropped the subject when Courtney shook her head. Amaya didn’t say anything, but she was pretty sure she’d seen Courtney and ‘Mr. Jackson’ exchanging looks here and there. It was none of her business, though. If there was anything there, or even a possibility of something being between them, she knew Courtney would tell her when she was ready.

When they finished eating, all four of them got up to throw their garbage away and head back to the auditorium.

 

Group numbers, Mick had decided, were far less terrifying than solo or pairs numbers.

(Not that he’d ever admit to being terrified of them, but he still couldn’t shake how off he felt after doing that duet with Amaya.)

Doing ‘The Bitch of Living’ with the guys had been fun. Freeing, even. It hadn’t felt stressful or destabilizing. It had just felt like what he imagined joking around with your buddies in the locker room would feel like. Not that he had any experience with that, but that was irrelevant.

He looked over as Amaya, Sara, Kendra and Courtney came back into the auditorium and took their seats.

“All right, everyone!” Mr. Hunter said, clasping his hands together. “Great work today. The next time we meet up will be on Monday, to start blocking ‘My Junk’. However, I would like you all to run lines before then so you have more of a grasp on the other scenes, as I’d like to do at least one or two of them on Monday as well. You’re free to go!”

Amaya got up and headed out of the auditorium, bag slung over her shoulder and ‘The Word of Your Body’ playing on repeat in her head.

 

Maybe two hours later, she checked her email to find one from Mr. Hunter, addressed to both her and Mick with the subject line ‘Act 1, scene 11’.

Her heart simultaneously plummeted into her stomach and shot into her throat at the same time. At least that was how it felt to her.

_Miss Jiwe, Mr. Rory,_

_Are you two free tomorrow at around 10am? Because if you are, I’d like to start blocking act 1, scene 11. Please get back to me as soon as possible._

_Rip Hunter_

Amaya swallowed hard. She was free, because thankfully she didn’t have any weekend classes, and she told him as much (not the no weekend classes part).

She tossed and turned all night, thinking about what would happen tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really enjoying writing this story! I hope all of you are enjoying reading it. Next chapter things gets a little steamy, but nothing bad enough to need to change the rating. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.


	6. Just too unreal, all this…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, scene 11. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a brief mention of some abuse/assault type stuff from an earlier scene in the play, but nothing massive. Still, if the mention of that kind of thing bothers you, please tread with caution.

Amaya set her alarm for eight, to give herself enough time to get ready, make herself some breakfast, and head out to the auditorium with her bag, and her script, to start blocking what she had come to think of as The Scene™.

She’d slept pretty badly, but at least she’d gotten some sleep on and off so she hopefully had a little energy. She wasn’t far from the auditorium, so she walked into the coffee shop to grab herself a latte. She smiled without really thinking about it as she remembered the last time she was here.

With Mick. Discussing the play...and this scene in particular.

 _Irony, thy name is Spring Awakening._ She thought, chuckling to herself.

Once she had her caffeinated beverage of choice, she headed out of the shop, checking the clock. It was 9:15. Maybe she could continue planning her report for her ‘Animal Physiology II’ class. Or rather, start planning it.

Doing rehearsals for the show had screwed up her usual work patterns, but she was managing pretty well. Or so she thought, anyway. She headed into the auditorium five minutes later, and had barely sat down before pulling out the notebook she used to take notes during her class and starting to plan it out.

 

Mick Rory entered the auditorium at 9:45, to find the large theatre empty...save for a familiar head of black hair, bent over something. A book, maybe. If Snart were here, he’d probably sit near the back. But, since the whole point of today was to start blocking what was the possibly the most pivotal scene of the show, he took a chance and headed down to the row of seats she sat in. “Hey.” He murmured, watching her head shoot up.

He could see what she was looking at now, a notebook. A title was written at the top--Assignment # 2 for Animal Physiology II. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that might be a zoology class.

“Hi, Mick.” She said, offering him a warm but drowsy smile.

“Do you mind if I-?” He trailed off, gesturing to the empty seat next to her.

Amaya shook her head. “No, not at all. The seat is yours.”  
  
He sat down next to her. Mick wasn’t sure what to do now. His first thought was to try and start up a conversation, but if she was doing work for one of her classes, he didn’t want to disturb her.

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait too long before she put her notebook away and looked at him. “Do you...want to try running the lines for act 1, scene 11?” She asked.

He swallowed hard, but nodded. “We probably should.” Mr. Hunter would love that, coming in to see them already starting on the scene.

Amaya stood up. “We’ll have more room if we run our lines on the stage.”

Mick scrambled to stand up as well so she could pass him. “After you.” He said, wondering if she could hear the way his voice was shaking. He followed her to the stage. It felt strange to be doing this without Mr. Hunter here, but they were just running lines, right?

“Maybe take it from the final line of ‘The Mirror-Blue Night’?” Amaya suggested softly. She almost sounded nervous. “You don’t have to sing it if you don’t want to, you can just speak it. And I can read the stage directions.”

Mick nodded, sitting on the edge of the stage. He knew he didn’t have to sing the line, and he wasn’t entirely sure how good he’d sound without the music anyway, but he wanted to give it a shot all the same. Taking he a deep breath, he opened his mouth. “ _There's no one to see who can see to my soul…_ ”

“Wendla enters, holding Melchior’s journal.” Amaya read from the stage directions, and he heard her take a few steps, onto the main stage instead of in the wings, where she must have been before now. Her voice was cool, detached, matter-of-fact. “The lights shift  abruptly--from a cool “mirror blue” to the warm light of dusk--revealing Melchior in a hayloft.” The next time she spoke, her voice was how he was used to hearing it. “ _So, here you are._ ”

He looked down at his script, which he was holding open on the stage floor. “ _Go away. Please._ ” His tone was firm, but remorseful.

She ignored him, which he guessed was how Wendla was supposed to react, and kept speaking. “ _There’s a storm coming, you know. You can’t sit sulking in some hayloft._ ”

“ _Out._ ” He said, in the same tone as his previous lines.

“A beat.” Amaya said before continuing with Wendla’s lines. “ _Everyone’s at Church. Rehearsing for our Michaelmas chorale. I slipped out._ ” Her voice was so light and airy. He had to admit, for two people who had never done a stage production before this point, they weren’t doing half bad

“ _Yes. Well._ ” Mick stayed where he was.

“A beat.” Amaya repeated. The ease with which she slipped between reading stage directions and reading lines was almost hypnotic. “ _Your friend Moritz Stiefel is absent. Someone said he’s been missing all day._ ”

Right. Moritz. Mick remembered that at this point in the show, from the script at least, he was contemplating suicide. “ _I expect he’s had his fill of Michaelmas._ ” He made his tone short, slightly irritated. But not too much. Not that he thought a little roughness would scare Wendla Bergman, or Amaya Jiwe, for that matter, off so easily.

“ _Perhaps._ ” Amaya said, sounding a little stung. “A beat.” She said. And then, “ _You know, I have your journal._ ” She paused. He knew it was his line next. “There are no stage directions for what you’re supposed to do, so I guess you can just, do whatever you feel Melchior would, after that line.”

He nodded, and then, after reading over the line mentally, taking note of the punctuation beside it, he jerked his head up to look at her. Her hair was down, and yet when he’d entered the auditorium it had been in a high ponytail. This threw him off more than he’d expected it to. “ _You do?!_ ” He tried, whether he succeeded or not was anyone’s guess, to make his voice a mixture of incredulous and accusing.

“ _You left it._ ” Amaya said, by way of an explanation. “ _The other day. I confess, I tried reading part of it--_ ”

“ _Just leave it. Please._ ” Given that the last scene Melchior and Wendla had been in together was him beating her with a switch and making her cry, coupled with his lines, Mick assumed he would be regretful and guilty, and not want her anywhere near him.

“Wendla climbs into the hayloft, sets down the journal.” Amaya read out, and Mick heard her footsteps coming closer to him. “ _Melchior, I’m sorry about...what happened._ ” Mick startled the tiniest bit hearing her vice right next to him. “ _Truly, I am._ ” Her tone was so earnest, so full of remorse, that his own heart almost broke. She was incredibly, unbelievably talented. “ _I understand why you’d be angry at me. I don’t know what I was thinking--_ ” Her voice rose a little in octave and hysteria.

Mick’s next line cut her off. “ _Don’t._ ” He managed to get out. Honestly, at this point he was just trying to get the lines out, but his own emotions seemed to be overwhelming what was written in the script.

Amaya, as Wendla,  was undeterred. “ _But how can I not--_ ”

Again, he cut her off. “ _Please. Please. Don’t._ ”

“A beat.” Amaya said, and he briefly broke character, glancing at her to find that she looked as affected by the lines they were saying as he himself felt.

Mick turned his attention back to the script, swallowing hard to compose himself a little. Or try to, at least. “ _We were confused. We were both just…_ ”

He’d barely finished the line before she was interjecting again. “ _But it was my fault that--_ ”

Mick shook head head and turned so he was facing her completely. “ _Don't-please-no! It was me-all me._ ” He swallowed. “ _Something in me started, when I hit you._ ”

“ _Something in me, too…_ ” Amaya gestured to herself, too, still looking at him with her brown eyes.

“ _But I hurt you--_ ” He murmured.

Again, she cut him off. “ _Yes, but still--_ ”

This time it was Mick who cut her off, his heart breaking at how forgiving Wendla was. “ _No more! My God. No more. Just-please._ ” Mick turned away from her, like he couldn’t bear to look her in the eye. It wasn’t too far off because, in that moment, that was how he felt.

“A beat.” Amaya said. He’d forgotten she was also reading the stage directions, and it startled him.

But he kept following the script. “ _You should go._ ” Mick said this line firmly, with an air of defensiveness, and a little anger.

“A beat.” Amaya read. “Wendla kneels beside Melchior.” She was already doing that, last time he’d looked at her. He instinctively tensed, feeling her hand come to rest on his back. Her voice was incredibly soft when she spoke her next lines. “ _Won’t you come out to the meadow now, Melchior? It’s dark in here, and stuffy._ ” As she finished saying ‘and stuffy’, Mick felt her other hand join the one already on his back. “ _We can run through the rain_ ” One of her hands moved from his back to the top of his shoulder. “ _\--get soaked to the skin and not even care._ ” The way her voice was shaking broke his heart.

He whirled around to face her, saw her hands hovering just inches away from him. “ _Forgive me…_ ” He murmured, holding his script in his lap.

Amaya reached out and touched the side of his bicep, leaning in a little closer. “ _It was me._ ” He could feel her breath on his face. “ _All me._ ” For a moment, neither of them moved, even though Mick was pretty sure this wasn’t part of the script. It was Amaya who broke eye contact, sitting back, picking up her script and looking at what was written there. Her eyes widened, and she looked almost flustered. “Um, now the stage directions say ‘Wendla cradles his head on her breast’.” She mumbled, and he felt his own eyes widen. Oh. **That** was why she seemed flustered all of a sudden.

“Are you-comfortable with that?” Mick asked. “Because if you’re not, I could just put my head against your shoulder instead.” He offered.

Amaya smiled, and he felt a wave of triumph wash over him. “That’s sweet, Mick, but if you did that, your next line, ‘I can hear your heartbeat, Wendla.’ doesn’t make any sense.” He closed his eyes, swearing internally. She was right. “Here, let’s try it how it’s written in the script.” She suggested gently, and he opened his eyes to look at her. “And if it doesn’t work, we can ask Mr. Hunter for an alternative.”

He nodded. “Okay.” Amaya kept the hand that was already on his arm where it was, then brought her free hand up to rest against his neck, before pulling him in towards her so his head was against her chest, where he actually could hear her heart beating through the fabric of her shirt, since his ear was right against her chest. “ _I can hear your heartbeat, Wendla._ ” It was easy for him to say the line in a reverent, amazed way. Because he was. Never in a million years did he think he;d ever be with someone like this.

He heard Amaya swallow. “Melchior reaches to kiss Wendla.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. He pulled back from her, and she let him go. He leaned in a little, and she moved back. “ _Oh, Melchi--I don’t know._ ” She murmured, hesitating. She shook her head, and looked at the script again. Then she looked back up at him, and nodded once.

Mick read his next line, and the stage direction accompanying it, several times. He reached out and gently pulled her towards him until her ear was against his chest as well. “ _No matter where I am, I hear it, beating…_ ”

“ _And I hear yours._ ” Amaya said quietly.

Mick pulled back from her just enough to be able to reach the script. He read the stage direction. And then, he did something that he knew for a fact wasn’t scripted. Still in character, he spoke his next line-this one completely improvised. “ _Wendla, can I kiss you?_ ”

Amaya’s eyes widened. She may not have been that familiar with Spring Awakening, but she knew for a fact that line wasn’t anywhere in the script. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she wasn’t ready. “We should see where Mr. Hunter is.” She said. It had to be way past ten by now. She got off the stage and moved over to where her bag was, and pulled out her phone to look at the time. “It’s almost 10:30.” She said, looking at him. Amaya went into her email and checked it. “‘Mr. Rory, Miss Jiwe,’” She read the newest one, sent five minutes ago. “‘My apologies, but my son got sick unexpectedly, and I had to stay home to be with him. Run what you’re comfortable with in terms of act 1, scene 11, and I’ll be in touch with you about running it in front of me at a later date. Mr. Hunter.’”

Mick blinked. Well, that explained why he hadn’t come to the auditorium. “Are you okay, Amaya?” He asked. “I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I?” Usually, he didn’t care about whether he made someone uncomfortable or not. But he cared about her, a lot-he was realizing that pretty quickly. And she’d pretty much bolted away from him when he’d improvised the line. So clearly, something had gone wrong in the grand scheme of things.

“It’s not you specifically.” Amaya responded. “It’s hard to explain.” She started packing up. “I should get going, I have an assignment due soon that still needs a lot of work. You were really great today, though.” She told him warmly, exiting the auditorium and leaving him standing there dumbfounded.


	7. I’m calling to know the world’s true yearning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group decides to have a night to unwind.

Thankfully, the next blocking session/rehearsal was group stuff. It wasn’t that Amaya was avoiding Mick on purpose, but she just didn’t know how to face him after running out on him like she had, in the middle of the scene.

They were all taking a break after a couple run-throughs of ‘My Junk’, when Ray spoke. “You know what? We’ve all been working really hard.” He said, and got several murmurs of agreement-Amaya herself included. “So, I think, after rehearsal, we should go out for drinks. I know a great bar not too far from campus. Who’s in?”

Of course, Mick and Leonard were the first to agree. Sara, Kendra and Courtney were next. Before long, everyone had agreed to it. Amaya wasn’t much of a drinker, but she wouldn’t say no to going out with her friends.

 

The bar was nice. Not too crowded, good music, decent drinks (not that she had anything alcoholic). Sara, Kendra and Courtney were all up dancing, and Amaya was sitting in the booth they’d gotten, enjoying the music.

Suddenly, a drink appeared in front of her. It looked nice, vibrant and tropical, in a margarita glass. She looked over, starting to say “I didn’t order this,” Only to see a strange guy she didn’t know. Not dressed like a waiter. He wasn’t ugly-sure he wasn’t attractive either, but that was besides the point-but he had a sharp air about him that she immediately didn’t trust.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

“Maybe. You looked lonely, I thought I’d come over and introduce myself.” The man said, holding out his hand. “Eobard Thawne. And you are?”

“Not interested.” Amaya said, making sure not to touch the drink. He was right in the way of one end of the booth, blocking her from leaving, so she did the rational thing and slid around the other side, getting out that way.

Only for him to block her when she tried to walk away. Her heart sped up. “Move, please.” She said, trying to be as polite as she could while still maintaining that ‘get the fuck away from me’ air.

“Not until you give me your name.” Thawne’s tone was low, threatening.

Amaya swallowed hard. She could defend herself, but she didn’t want to unless she had to. Besides, what if he had friends? She was mentally weighing her options…

“Hey, babe, is this asshole giving you trouble?” She heard the gruff voice of Mick Rory beside her, felt his strong arm around her waist, and her toes curled.

Thawne looked doubtfully between them. “You can do better than him, dollface.”

Amaya’s eyes narrowed at ‘dollface’. “Like you?” She asked. “Yeah, I’ll pass.”

“Do you know what he’s done?” Thawne asked, and Amaya’s brows furrowed.

“Last chance, Thawne. Back down.” Mick’s tone was lower and angrier than she’d ever heard it.

Thawne looked between them, smirking in a way that made Amaya want to punch it off and she wasn’t a violent person if there was literally any other option. It was clear his next words were meant for her. “Ask him what happened to his parents.” Then he walked off, leaving Amaya puzzled.

“Are you okay?” Mick asked, and she turned to look at him. His tone was sincere, but he looked nervous.

 _What happened to his parents?_ She thought, but didn’t dare ask. Instead, she nodded. “Thanks to you.” She offered a smile, feeling slightly encouraged when he returned it.

There was a chance Thawne had just been saying that to be an ass-she’d just met him for the first time tonight, but it seemed like that kind of behaviour would be in character.

Amaya picked up the glass with the drink that she hadn’t ordered in it. “Thawne bought me this. It’s probably poisoned.” She muttered, feeling triumphant when he smirked. Though she couldn’t help but notice how his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’ll go get rid of it for you.” Mick responded, taking it from her without touching her. Which was probably for the best, because she’d gone weak at the knees the last time they’d touched hands.

“Thank you.” She murmured, and watched him as he walked off with the drink. Normally, she’d sit down again, but she didn’t want a repeat of what had happened with Thawne. So when Courtney waved her over to dance, she didn’t hesitate, walking over to dance with them.

“It’s about time you joined the party!” Todd said, smiling warmly at her. Amaya returned it, and let him twirl her, laughing as he did so.

 

Mick rested his elbows on the bar, watching Amaya dance and laugh with Todd Rice. His heart felt like it had jumped into his throat.

She was amazing, if he was being completely honest.

Even after Thawne’s taunting, she hadn’t asked about his parents, though she easily could’ve-and he wouldn’t have faulted her for doing so.

Mick heard Leonard before he saw him. “You’re staring.” He said.

He turned his head so he was looking at Leonard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He responded, hoping it was convincing.

But it was clear from the look on Leonard’s face that his friend didn’t buy it, and wasn’t going to pretend like he did. “Just talk to her. I mean, you two are playing opposite each other as romantic leads. You can’t avoid each other forever.”

“What do you want me to say, Leonard?” Mick asked, probably a little more sharply than necessary. “Thawne told her to ‘ask what happened to my parents’. What if I go talk to her and she asks?”

“Mick, I can’t tell you whether she will or not, because I don’t know that.” Leonard’s voice was ever calm. “What I can tell you, is that Amaya Jiwe is not the type to judge a person for something that happened when they were a teenager.”

Mick nodded. Leonard was right. “Okay, I’ll go talk to her, and if she asks...I’ll figure it out.” He clapped Leonard on the shoulder lightly in thanks and walked over to Amaya, who smiled when she saw him. “Hey, uh, do you want to dance?” He asked, his tone shy.

Amaya just kept smiling. “Sure, I’d like that.” She accepted his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. The song wasn’t slow, but she placed her hands on his shoulder, after bringing his to her waist, like it was. Mostly, they just ended up swaying. “Are you okay?” She asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

He gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“Are you okay, after what Thawne said about your parents?” Amaya continued.

Oh. That made sense.

He nodded. “Yeah, of course, Thawne’s an ass.” There were a couple moments of silence before he’d worked up the courage to speak again. “Aren’t you going to ask what happened to them?”

Amaya shook her head. “No.”

Now he was even more confused. “No?”

“It’s none of my business until you’re ready to tell me.” She responded simply, without hesitation. As if Mick hadn’t already figured out how amazing she was.

“Amaya Jiwe.” He said. “I have known you all these years, and we’ve never truly talked.”

Amaya laughed. “That line doesn’t even make sense in the context of this situation!”

“Doesn’t matter, I got you to laugh.” He responded earnestly. “Which is more than good enough for me.”

They continued to sway, and Mick felt, for the first time since their attempt to block act 1 scene 11, that everything was good between them again.

 

“You didn’t have to walk me home, Mick.” Amaya said as they walked back to the dorms, where she was staying. “I mean, I appreciate it, but you didn’t have to.”

“I know.” He responded. “But I wanted to. Besides, it’s actually on the way to my place, anyway, so it works for both of us.”

Amaya nodded as they continued walking. Before long, however, they’d reached the residence, and she couldn’t fully ignore the rush of sadness that overcame her at the thought. She turned to him. “We should exchange numbers, so we can contact each other easier.” Amaya said. “You know, to run lines and stuff.”

He nodded, pulling out his phone. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” They swapped phones, and he put his number into hers before handing it back to her, and she did the same.

“See you at rehearsal.” Amaya said, smiling at him as she smoothly slid her phone back into her bag. “And thanks for tonight.” Before he realized what was happening, he felt her lips on his cheek. He froze completely, even as she pulled back, and stared after her as she headed inside.

Yeah, things were **definitely** good between them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think. This fic is snowballing out of control and I don't even care.


	8. Totally Fucked-The Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sort of filler chapter.

Mick’s favorite group number in the musical, by far, was, well, ‘Totally Fucked’. As if his favorite group number could be anything else.

(Though, honestly, ‘My Junk’ wasn’t the worst thing ever.)

Mick honestly didn’t even mind that the song wasn’t a solo, because the others were talented and added to the song.

Rex stood up. His lines were spoken, not sung. “ _But the thing that makes you really jump? Is that the weirdest shit is still to come.”_ He brought his other hand to hold the microphone with both hands. _“You can ask yourself ‘Hey, what’ve I done?_ ’” As he said this, he brought his other hand out towards the crowd, and down to his side. _“You’re just a fly, the little guys? They kill for fun.”_

Jefferson Jackson, or ‘Jax’ to his friends (which, in this case, was the rest of the theatre group) stood up as well. But his lines were sung. “ _Man, you’re fucked if you just freeze up! Can’t do that thing that keeping still._ ”

Todd stood up as well. “ _But you’re fucked if you speak your mind…_ ”

Mick watched the three of them sing in near-perfect sync, impressed. “ _And you know, uh huh, you will!_ ”

“Fantastic job so far, all of you.” Mr. Hunter enthused. “Now, for the chorus, I want you all to sing this together. It might take some work, but we’ll get there. I want those of of you sitting at the edge of the stage to turn and face the crowd as you’re singing, instead of looking at Mr. Rory. And...music!”

There wasn’t much for him to do during the song in terms of movement, consider Melchior was supposed to be getting interrogated by the ‘teachers’ (played by Zari and Wally). So he just sang with the passion he’d had at his audition, listening to everyone else sing with him.

“ _Yeah, you’re fucked, all right and all for spite_

_You can kiss your sorry ass goodbye_

_Totally fucked, will they mess you up?_

_Well, you know they’re gonna try!_ ”

He found himself glancing over at the back of Amaya’s head, noting with a smile that she seemed to be getting into it. They all did. Sure, they’d all done well singing ‘My Junk’, but that song was much slower than this. And yet, they weren’t doing terribly at all.

As if she could feel his eyes on her, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Though he had a feeling that wasn’t part of the plan for the show he found himself smiling back all the same.

 

Amaya smiled, a soft laugh escaping her after they’d finished their second runthrough of ‘Totally Fucked’. She walked over to her bag, pulling her water bottle out, uncapping it, and taking a long drink before sitting down on the edge of the stage. That number had been energy consuming, and that was without the costumes or the heavy stage lights.

But she found that she didn’t care, because how fun it was would outweigh that. “You guys did great.” She said to Todd, Rex, Jax and Mick, who smiled and responded positively.

Mick walked over to her. “Hey, Amaya.” He said.

She smiled at him. “Hi, Mick!”

“So…” He took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. “Would you want to come over for dinner at my place tonight?” He asked. “Say, eight-thirty?”

To his immense relief, she nodded. “I’d like that. A lot, actually.”

Mick beamed, unable to help himself. “Great! I’ll text you my address.” Since they weren’t currently doing anything at the moment, he pulled out his phone and did just that.

He couldn’t wait for the night to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a small filler chapter, because I feel bad that it's been a couple days since I updated. I hope it's still okay though!


	9. This is the reason for dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick and Amaya's date

Full disclosure: Amaya Jiwe had never been on a date before. As in, never. So she had no idea what to do, or what to wear. Which was why she’d invited Courtney, Sara and Kendra over to help her.

“What about this one?” Kendra asking, taking a white peasant style top out from her closet and holding it up. “It’s nice.”

Amaya nodded. “Yeah, it is.” She agreed warmly. She had a nice pair of black jeans laid on the bed, which would go nicely with the white top that Kendra had pulled from her closet. “Thanks for helping me out. It means a lot.”

“Of course, ‘maya.” Courtney said warmly, while Sara gave her a thumbs up and Kendra smiled.

Amaya went into the bathroom to get dressed, taking off her current clothes and pulling on the ones she’d picked out with Kendra’s help. Though she’d been around him plenty, sometimes by themselves, her heart beat so loudly she wondered if Mick would be able to hear it when she went to his house, even though she knew that wasn’t physically possible.

On a whim, she brushed her hair, and then pulled it into a half ponytail. Then she headed out of the bathroom with her previous clothes in hand, folding them and putting them into the drawers of her dresser.

“All right, so I think I’m gonna head out.” Amaya said, looking at them. “Do I look okay?” Kendra and Courtney were enthusiastic in their compliments, while Sara simply let out a wolf whistle that made Amaya giggle. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She said.

As she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, she heard Sara call “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”, heard the other three girls still hanging out in her room burst into laughter, and shook her head playfully, smiling to herself.

 

Amaya stopped in front of Mick’s apartment. Before she could lose her nerve, she reached out and knocked on the door.

He answered the door maybe a minute or so later. As she watched, his eyes bugged out of his head. “Wow, you look...amazing.”

He wore a white dress shirt with a black tie, along with his thick gloves. “Thank you, so do you!” She told him earnestly, following him into the apartment. “Nice place.” It was nice, small and cozy, as well as clean.

“Thanks. It’s not much, but it’s home.” Mick responded. “I’m just finishing making dinner, you can make yourself comfortable if you want.”

Amaya looked at him. “Do you need any help? I’m not exactly comfortable sitting around doing nothing with other people do tasks that need to get done.”

Mick nodded. “Fair enough. Okay, there’s cutlery in the drawer right there, he pointed to the middle drawer on the right side of the kitchen. “Wanna set the table?”

Amaya was only too happy to do so. She walked over and pulled out two forks, and two knives just in case. “So, what’s on the menu?” She asked, setting them on the table.

“Well, I didn’t know about your dietary habits, so to be safe. I made pasta and salad, is that okay?” Mick asked, and her heart warmed with affection.

“That’s perfect. I’m a vegetarian.” Amaya told him.

Well, it was a good thing he’d made the food choices he had, then. “Okay, well, have a seat, if you want. Dinner will be done soon.” Mick told her, smiling in a way that made her heart jump.

“Okay. If you’re sure you don’t need any help.” Amaya responded. When Mick shook his head again, she nodded and sat down. And sure enough, a few minutes later, he was coming over with two plates full of spaghetti, and two wooden bowls.

“For the salad.” He explained, and she nodded. Once those were placed down, he brought a big bowl of salad over and set it on the table, complete with tongs for it. Then he sat down as well, and they started to eat.

 

“So, on my way over here, I was thinking we don’t really know each other that well.” Amaya said. “And I had an idea. My friend Kendra’s boyfriend Ray came up with a game that’s almost like twenty questions, but more fun. It’s called two truths and a lie.” She looked at him as she took another bite of her food. “I mean, we don’t have to if you’re not comfortable…”

“No, it sounds like a good way to get to know each other.” Mick said.

“I can go first if you want me to?” Amaya asked, smiling when he nodded. “Okay, well, I was born in Africa, my mom is my best friend, and I play the piano.”

Mick’s brows furrowed. He wasn’t sure, they all sounded like they could be true. “You don’t play the piano?” Mick guessed, smiling when she shook her head.

“I have never played the piano in my life.” She said with a laugh.

“So, you were born in Africa?” He asked and she nodded.

“I lived there most of my life, but I came out here at almost twenty when I got accepted to the university.” Amaya explained. “I miss my family, but I’m hoping to bring them out here once I graduate and start making money.” She shook her head. “Anyway, it’s your turn. Two truths and a lie.”

Mick thought for a bit before deciding on his choice. “Okay. Well, I’ve been arrested, I have a pet rat, and I have a sister.”

Amaya looked at him. “You seem like an only child to me.” She said. “And I only say that because I’m one, too.”

Mick nodded. “Well, you’d be right. I don’t have any siblings.” He wondered if she’d ask what he’d been arrested for. But her words at the bar the other night came to his mind: _It’s none of my business until you’re ready to tell me._ The only people besides himself that knew what had happened were Leonard, his parole officer and the judge who gave him the community service ultimatum.

But, he knew that she could be trusted with this kind of information. “I’ve always had a fascination with fire.” He started. “I would stare at it for hours. My parents always told me not to play with it, but I didn’t listen. And then one day...while I was playing with it...the house caught fire.” He swallowed hard, bracing himself as he rolled up his sleeves to show her the burns all up his arms. “I survived, they didn’t.”

“Mick, that wasn’t your fault.” Amaya said immediately.

“I could’ve woken them up on my way out. But I just left them in there to die.” He pointed out.

Amaya shook her head. “Mick, listen to me.” She didn’t look away from him. “Did you intend to burn your house down, did you intend to kill your parents?” When he shook his head, she nodded. “Exactly.” Gently, she reached out and placed her hand on his arm, making a mental note to take her hand off the second he flinched, if he did. But he didn’t. Instead, he just looked at her, like he couldn’t believe she actually wanted to touch him. “Thank you for telling me. But it doesn’t make me think any less of you. I’m not sure anything you say or do could make me think less of you.”

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Mick whispered.

Amaya shook her head. “Hardly. I’m just willing to give pretty much everyone the benefit of the doubt at least once.” She continued to eat her food.

“Call it what you want, I still think you’re amazing.” Mick placed his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. “My scars don’t bother you?”

“Not at all.” Amaya smiled. “Your scars are a part of you. I once heard this quote that said ‘Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you’. I don’t remember who said it, but it stuck with me.”

“I like that.” Mick’s tone was soft.

“Me too.” Amaya gently removed her hand from his arm. They finished their meals in a companionable silence.

 

“I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight, Mick. Thank you.” Amaya said, beaming at him as she waited in his apartment for her phone to tell her that her Uber driver was about to arrive.

Mick nodded, smiling back at her. Despite having shown her his scars, she was still right there with him, and had been like it didn’t change anything. Maybe for her, it didn’t. “So did I.” He said earnestly. Did he dare ask? “Would you, want to do it again sometime soon?”

Though he didn’t think it was possible, her sincere smile seemed to get even wider and brighter. “Are you kidding? I’d love that.” She said, and he had no doubts that she meant it. But his heart still jumped all the same.

“Great!” He said just as earnestly.

She looked at her phone. “My driver’s about to be here.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Text me when you’re home safe.” The words slipped out before he could stop it, though he felt like his brain was going a mile a minute at the kiss she’d just pressed to his cheek.

“I will.” Amaya said, and left the apartment. Mick stared after her until she was gone, smiling softly to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long to post, it was fighting with me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it.


	10. I believe there is love in heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaya and Mick decide to make a dent in the blocking for 'act 1, scene 11'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a brief mention of nudity in this chapter, around the time they go into Mick's bedroom. But it's for the context of the script, and barely focused on. Still, just be wary anyway!

Amaya had known ever since they’d first run lines for act 1, scene 11, that they would eventually have to revisit it. Since she’d started going on more dates with Mick, the thought of kissing him on stage had gotten much less nerve wracking. In fact, since they’d started seeing each other regularly, their chemistry on stage had become even more apparent. To Amaya, anyway, she didn’t know if the others had picked up on it yet.

But the thought of doing such an intimate scene on stage, in front of what would probably be a lot of people, still made her heart race.

So, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved each day they came to rehearsals and didn’t do that scene.

But it stuck in her mind that they would have to do it eventually.

So, as they were leaving the auditorium after rehearsals, she gently pulled Mick aside. “Hey, so...I’ve been thinking...what if we run act 1, scene 11 in private first? So that maybe when we do it on stage it won’t be so terrifying?”

Mick nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” He said, gently stroking her arm. “Do you want to do it at my place?”

“That’s probably a good idea, I mean, we might have more privacy that way.” She murmured. “So, meet at your place in, say, an hour?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Mick agreed. Amaya’s eyes widened as she felt his lips on her cheek. “See you soon, Wendla.” He murmured, then walked off. Amaya stood there, frozen for a moment, before snapping out of it and heading back to her dorm to get ready.

 

Thankfully this was their summer show, because the outfit she currently wore was not nearly warm enough for winter weather. She’d put on a light, flowy dress-one she felt Wendla would wear, to make the whole scene flow more easily.

(Not to mention she was pretty sure girls didn’t wear pants in late 19th century Germany. Especially not young girls, like Wendla and her friends were supposed to be.)

Until they had their costumes, she would have to make do with what she had in her closet.

Also to make the scene flow more easily, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Another reason she was grateful for the warm weather.

She stopped in front of Mick’s door, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, before reaching up to knock on the door.

 

Mick hadn’t expected this. Sure, it was a good idea, for them to get the scene down without worrying about being walked in on-a really good idea, actually-but that didn’t make it any less nerve wracking.

Discussing it was one thing. Running the lines all the way up to the kiss was one thing. But actually doing it was something else entirely.

He was tempted to call her, make up some excuse for why he needed to cancel. But almost immediately after he had that thought, he heard a knock on the door.

Well, too late to back out now.

Swallowing hard, he answered the door, smiling at her. “Hey, come on in.” He said, stepping back to let her in. He tried his best not to stare, but that was proving to be much harder than he’d expected. She looked lovely, in a white dress that looked similar to how he’d imagined Wendla’s ‘little fairy queen’ dress would.

“Thank you.” She murmured, smiling at him over her shoulder.

He tried to ignore the way his heart jumped at the sight of it. “All right, well, come on in.” Mick said as he led her to the bedroom. Thankfully he’d just cleaned it the other day, so it wouldn’t be a mess for them to work in.

“Nice room.” She enthused as she stepped into it. A smile came to her face at the sight of a rat cage on the table against the far wall. “Aw, hi buddy.” She cooed, walking over to peer into the cage.

“That’s Axel.” Mick told her, glancing towards the bed, which was almost completely made. Almost, but not quite. “He’s the reason I couldn’t live in a dorm, because the dorms here don’t allow pets.”

“He’s adorable.” Amaya beamed at him again, and again his heart jumped in his chest. “So, do you want to take it from the kiss in the hayloft?” She asked, walking away from Axel towards the bed again.

He nodded, and gestured for her to sit down on the edge of the bed. She did, and he joined her. Mick had talked to Director Hunter about keeping in his improvised line about asking Wendla if he could kiss her instead of just doing it and to his surprise, and slight joy, Rip had said that was a great idea. As well as telling him that if he had any other ideas to make it less filled with consent issues, to go for it. So he reached out and cupped her cheek lightly. “ _Can I kiss you, Wendla?_ ”

This time, she didn’t shy away or run over to check her phone. This time, she nodded, and he swore she even leaned into his touch a little. “ _Yes, Melchior._ ”

Swallowing hard, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She all but melted into it, kissing him back. Kissing her on the lips felt much different than all their kisses on the cheek before this point. It was almost easy for him to forget they were rehearsing a scene.

Almost.

She broke the kiss. “ _Wait. We’re not supposed to._ ” But her hands remained on his shoulders.

Mick looked at his script quickly. “ _What? Not supposed to what? Love? I don’t know--is there such a thing? I hear your heart..._ ” He shifted closer, and Amaya’s heart beat more sharply in her chest. “ _I feel you breathing--everywhere--the rain, the hay...Please. Please, Wendla_.” He slid even closer until they were practically touching.

“ _Melchi, no, it’s not that._ ” Amaya returned, and he knew for a fact that wasn’t in the script either. “ _It’s just, it’s.._ ”

“ _What?_ ” He interjected. “ _Sinful?_ ”

“ _I don’t know._ ” Amaya responded, meek, nervous.

“ _Then why? Because it’s_ good _? Because it makes us_ feel _something?_ ” He asked. “ _Wendla, if you really don’t want to do this, tell me, and I’ll stop._ ”

Amaya seemed to be considering it, before she leaned in and kissed him this time. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. “ _I want to. Just, can we take it slow?_ ” She asked. “ _Please?_ ”

Mick nodded. “ _Yes._ ” He said, both as himself and as Melchior. This time when they kissed, they met in the middle, and as he kissed her, he helped her lie back against the pillows. “ _Don’t be scared._ ” He murmured.

Admittedly, he knew this scene a little more well than he probably should, having read it over several times before this point, to see what it would entail.

He waited until she nodded before leaned in to kiss her again, and he found that the more they kissed, the easier it got. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she kissed him back every time, without hesitation. He brought his hand to her breast, and gently rested it on there. Not that he knew what that would feel like, but it didn’t seem like she was wearing a bra. Upon feeling Amaya jolt slightly under him, he broke the kiss to look her in the eyes, removing his hand. “Okay?”

When she nodded and murmured “ _Okay._ ” he placed his hand back on her breast.

“Okay,” Amaya said, as she looked at her script. “Now it says ‘Melchior starts to unbutton Wendla’s dress’.”

Mick froze. He’d forgotten about that part. “Is that, something you’re comfortable with?” He asked.

“Mick, it’s in the script.” Amaya pointed out. “I appreciate you asking, but it’s okay. You can unbutton my dress.” She sounded much braver than she felt, and in that moment she was immensely glad they were doing this here. It wasn’t that she was self-conscious of her body, because she wasn’t. It just felt weird to bear her chest to everyone on stage and in the audience.

Mick nodded and started to unbutton the dress. As he’d suspected, she wasn’t wearing a bra, and his throat went dry as he became aware of the expanse of newly bared, brown skin before him, the sheer difference between the color of her skin and his, all the while trying not to stare, keeping his eyes on her face. His hands started to slide up her legs, under her dress, as the script called for.

“ _Wait._ ” Amaya said, and she couldn’t tell whether she was saying it as part of the script (because it was), or because it was how she felt. But, Mick stopped, looking up at her, and she took a few deep breaths. Then she nodded for him to keep going with his next line.

He didn’t take his eyes off her as he said it. “ _It’s just me._ ” He looked off to the side, towards an imaginary audience. “ _It’s just me._ ” He looked at the script again, and felt his entire face burn as he read the next stage direction. Now it was his turn to get cold feet. “I, uh…” He pulled back from her.

“We can stop, if you want.” Amaya said, as if reading his mind. “I mean, we made pretty good progress today, I think.”

“Yeah, that’d be...that’d be good. Thanks for understanding.” Mick said sheepishly.

Amaya smiled. “You’re welcome.” She said as she sat up, doing up her dress.

“Want to watch a movie?” He suggested.

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Amaya moved to his side, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Though he’d gotten cold feet about it, he knew now that doing this scene with her would be easier than he’d originally thought it would.

Hell, he even found himself anticipating it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I made some changes to the lines in the script. Though I did mention in an earlier chapter that all the consent issues were smoothed out, I wanted to make that explicitly clear. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	11. Spring and summer, ev’ry other day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A karaoke bar group date.

If you’d told Mick Rory when this all started that he’d be on a group date with Amaya, Kendra Saunders, Ray Palmer, Leonard, and Sara Lance, he would’ve definitely laughed in your face. And yet, here they were, hanging out at a karaoke bar. He sat there in the booth with his arm around Amaya, and he relished the way she stayed tucked into his side.

They hadn’t really talked about what they were, yet, but he had to admit, it felt like they were a couple. Especially right now. So, he turned his attention back to the stage.

Ray and Kendra were up on stage, doing a duet of that one romantic song from ‘Aladdin’-A Whole New World, he thought it was called, though he wasn’t sure. They seemed to be having fun with it.

“Should we go up?” He heard Amaya ask in his ear.

“You can, if you want.” Mick told her. “Karaoke bars aren’t really my thing.”

Amaya nodded. “Okay.” She said as she smiled at him. But he couldn’t help noticing what looked like a flicker of disappointment on her face, as she got up to go put her name down on the sign up sheet for karaoke.

He was getting better with the idea of singing in front of people, because of the musical, but that was a slow build up, easing him into the idea. Singing spontaneously, here? That was another hurdle entirely.

One he wasn’t quite ready to cross yet.

Before he knew it, Kendra and Ray were coming back to the booth, and Amaya was stepping up onto the stage. The music started up, and he was almost surprised to realize he knew the song. Since he’d started doing this musical, his knowledge of musical theater songs had grown extensively. Unless he was mistaken, it was Out Tonight, from RENT.

For someone who said she didn’t have experience with musical theater save for the current show they were doing together, she seemed very at home up there, playing a flirty role that seemed to match the song perfectly. But, maybe the show had helped her with that.

And it became pretty clear, as he took a cursory glance around the room, that he wasn’t the only one who noticed her captivating stage presence. Most everyone in the bar, regardless of gender, was looking at her.

Amaya, however, was only looking at him, which made him feel much less jealous than he’d expected to. He couldn't help feeling like she was singing specifically to him. Was that self centered?

He’d thought so.

Until, before he knew it, she was grabbing the mic from the stand, and walking off the stage, walking around the bar as she kept singing. And the whole time, she never took her eyes off him.

The feeling was very much mutual.

“ _So let's find a bar_

_So dark we forget who we are_

_And all the scars from the_

_Nevers and maybes die…_ ”

Those lyrics definitely felt like they were directed to him, and he was enraptured by her. She slid back into the booth with the rest of them and continued to sing, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.

And Mick himself, of course.

“ _Let's go out tonight_

_Have to go out tonight_

_You're sweet_

_Wanna hit the street?_

_Wanna wail at the moon like a cat in heat?_

_Just take me out tonight…_ ”

With each lyric she sang, she moved closer to him, until she was practically on top of him.

She leaned in close.

“ _Please take me--out tonight…_

_Don’t forsake me--out tonight…_

_I’ll let you make me--out tonight…_ ”

The arm that didn’t have a microphone slid around his neck as she kept singing, even though to Mick it felt like they were the only two people in the world right now.

“ _Tonight...tonight...tonight_.” She stopped right before her lips brushed his, and Mick didn’t even have time to really register that before the song was ending, and the entire bar was bursting into applause and cheers. But all he saw was Amaya beaming at him.

“You’re amazing.” He murmured, relishing in her smile.

\---

Later that night, when it was just the two of them, cuddling on his couch, she asked “So, are karaoke bars still not your thing?”

He barely had to think of his response before answering. “If you sing at them more often, they could definitely grow on me.”

The sound of her laughter was truly music to his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it!


	12. The winds sigh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Costumes, and scenes in costumes.

When they first started Spring Awakening, Director Hunter had asked them to write down the parts of their costumes they thought they’d need for the character they would be playing. Mick hadn’t thought too much of why that was at the time.

But that day, when he walked into the auditorium with the rest of the cast, he stopped dead in his tracks seeing the clothing rack that was full of costumes, with Director Hunter standing next to it, smiling like he’d just won the lottery.

“Wow!” Amaya’s enthusiasm was almost palpable, and even Mick found himself smiling as a result.

“I’m glad you’re impressed, Miss Jiwe.” Director Hunter said, taking one of the hangers off the clothing rack-it had a flowery blue dress on it. “This is for you.” He said, handing it to her. “Now, I only borrowed these, so we have to give them back as soon as we’re done, but I got the okay for us to use them as long as we need them.”

Amaya stepped back, both to give the others room to come up and retrieve their costumes, and to get a better look at her own. They were all so beautiful. Her fingers lightly ran over each article of clothing. She picked up the hanger and went to go try them on, to see how they fit.

She took off her clothes and slipped into the costumes one by one. She put on the undergarment part of the costume, and then the blue dress with tiny flowers on it. Once that was done, she stepped out to show the rest of the cast, giving a little twirl.

\---

Mick felt his mouth go dry seeing her in what was essentially Wendla’s main costume. She looked beautiful, and he told her as much. “You look amazing.” He said earnestly, and she grinned brightly back at him.

“Thank you.” She said warmly. “You should go try yours on, too. To make sure they fit.”

MIck nodded. “Good idea.” He said. As he passed her, he kissed her on the cheek, causing a shy smile to come to her face. Without really noticing, she turned slightly to watch him walk away.

\---

Doing the show in costume was vastly different from doing the scenes in their regular clothes. But, it also worked better, too. The show was really coming together. Right now, they were starting to do the blocking for the technical parts of the show. The lighting, the effects, things like that.

‘My Junk’ felt much more authentic when they were dancing around in their costumes. For similar reasons, ‘The Word of Your Body’ felt more intimate.

“The show’s really coming together.” Director Hunter said when they’d sat down to take a break. “I’m incredibly impressed with the performances of everyone.” His gaze landed on herself and Mick, and Amaya fought not to look away. “Are you two comfortable enough with act 1, scene 11 to block it out, officially?”

Amaya glanced at Mick, then at the rest of the cast, before turning her gaze back to Director Hunter. “I, um...I’m not sure.” She admitted honestly. It was coming along nicely whenever they did it with just the two of them, sure, but it still felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest at the thought of doing it in front of not only their fellow cast mates, but an actual audience as well.

“Yeah, me either.” Mick agreed. And somehow, his admission made her feel better about the whole thing. “But, if it helps at all, we have been going over it on our own.”

Director Hunter nodded. “That’s good to hear. I don’t blame you, the scene is pretty awkward in general, so I can’t imagine how it must be for the two of you. But, as long as it’s ready for opening night, if that’s what you’re comfortable with, you’re more than welcome to keep practicing it on your own time.” Amaya thanked him quietly, heard Mick echo it.

Director Hunter clasped his hands together. “Okay. Miss Saunders, Miss Lance, are you two good to start blocking ‘The Dark I Know Well’?”

“I am.” Amaya looked at Kendra as she spoke.

Sara nodded. “Me too.”

Director Hunter nodded. “All right, then, let’s do that. Miss Jiwe, stay onstage, if you please. Saunders, Miss Lance, Miss Darhk, Miss Whitmore, if you could join her on the stage, we’ll run through the scene, and the song.”

Amaya squeezed Mick’s hand as he left the stage. This was one of the harder songs in the musical, mostly in content rather than anything else, not to mention the first time they had run through the song. But, with how good the audition had been, Amaya knew Kendra and Sara would absolutely knock it out of the park. All Courtney, Nora and herself really had to do was stand there and bear witness to it.

Easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long, I'm sorry for the wait! But I hope the chapter is worth it :D I'll try to post the next chapter in a timely manner. N promises, though ;)


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